Performance package first drive review

[2017-BRZ]

But those PP prairie wagon wheels ugh....

(subjective sarcasm at work here.)

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by 2017-BRZ

But those PP prairie wagon wheels ugh....

(subjective sarcasm at work here.)

They look better in person IMO.
I was kinda iffy on them as well but they've grown on me.

[Drambeenie]

Originally Posted by 2017-BRZ

But those PP prairie wagon wheels ugh....

(subjective sarcasm at work here.)

I dont like the designs that much either. I powder coated mine Satin Black, so you can barely see the design

[darthpnoy1984]

Originally Posted by Last Lemming Alive

Hello Gents,


This is my first post but 4th Suby. I was an active member on NASIOC. I've owned 2006 WRX Limited, 2009 WRX, 2011 STI Limited and now the 2017 WRB BRZ Limited w/ PP. the BRZ is more fun than any of them with the except of off road where the STI is a blast and best at home.


Now I'm probably a bit older than most of you guys, so outright speed and HP is waaay over rated when you use a car for daily driving in a city. What I have found is that it is way more important how it makes you feel at low speed, and this car has gobs of tactile feel and responsiveness. And its NOT slow, it's just not blistering fast.


I get sick of the youngsters (probably not you guys since you own one or want to own one) saying its underpowered. When I hear that, I know I'm hearing from someone who is not very worldly in automotive terms. For God's sake that been the winning formula for Miatas for 20 years. I've owned plenty of cars (over 20 at least), and all of them except 2 have been performance cars to one degree or another. The BRZ is most similar to the RX8 I owned, but feels waaay faster due to the torque and gearing. But is also gratifying like my old '86 Porsche 911 and is a lot like my current '86 944 Turbo. The BRZ blows me away because its combines the best attributes of these cars in a simple well executed fashion.


I test drove the 370z the same day I test drove and bought my BRZ. Yes the Z is faster - but that's it. It feels like a boat - HEAVY. At slow speed it feels like my wife's old Infiniti G35 - sounds the same too, in other words boring. If I did a lot of highway driving I might pick on up. I drove the BRZ after the 370z and I knew in the first 20 feet it was the better car.


As for the PP I think its worth every cent. The Brembo brakes do not feel mushy, they feel better than the Brembos I had in my STI. The wheels look decent to, and the crinkle coat intake is back!! Looks great. The stereo, while nothing great, is way better than in any other Subaru car I have owned. I hear the new ones are much better. the 4.30 rear end ratio fits this car perfectly and response at low speeds is instant. I can not speak to the older 4.10 ratio since I never drove it, but I'm sure its good too. The seats are awesome, and in some ways better than the Focus ST Recaro seats. BTW that's the car I traded in for the BRZ. On that car I had the Mountune MR300 suspension and tune kit. The throttle in that car sucked bad. It was like an on off switch, the BRZ, being NA is so much more fun and controllable. I don't regret ridding myself of the Focus ST either!


Anyway just wanted to say hello! I'll try to post up pics later.

Welcome I feel the same way with my 15 FRS. Only a true car guy will really appreciate these car.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JonRZ]

@Last Lemming Alive

I appreciate the post. I'm torn right now whether I want to keep my '12 Mazdaspeed3 with full bolt-ons and a tune (295hp/323tq at the wheels). Could be a nice sized down-payment against the new '17 w/ PP. With you telling us you don't miss your Focus ST, which in a lot of ways is similar to the MS3, I'm more inclined to trade it in and take out a much lower loan.

Thanks for the input!

[Borchert97]

Originally Posted by Andrew025

They look better in person IMO.
I was kinda iffy on them as well but they've grown on me.

There's also two kinds of finishes, I work at a Subaru dealership and we had two BRZ's, a Yellow.Series where the wheels were finished a solid black, and a gray Limited where they were finished in more of a metallic gray, I really didn't like the gray wheels, the black finish on the Yellow.Series looks fantastic, though. Pictures from Google for reference.

[chaoskaze]

Originally Posted by 2017-BRZ

Subaru SHOULD have given the STI wheel as the PP package....then it would be worth it...and the RED center caps with the BIG RED BBK calipers would look PERFECT.

They could, but ..... thanks to how wonderfully Suburu & Sti are actually different in turns of how they do their inventory and stuff in japan.... you don't get the BRZ STI wheels in 17x7.5 & 18x7.5/18x8 in suburu warehouse to ship off. (*they are in STI warehouse & store much lower in number)

This is also why the only STI BRZ wheel is only availble in 17x7 cuz that's offical subaru accessory but the rest of the sizes aren't.

[Jen]

My local dealer just got in a new yellow series. I got to test drive it with zero miles. Took it like a half mile and turned around since I didn't love it. Anyone think the new one is different?!? The last one I drove was a '13 with a few mods and I loved it. I didn't want to put miles on the '17 since I knew I wasn't going to buy it. This was the manual.

I drove a new STI after that, and like the WRX I have better. I'm at 18k miles with the '16 WRX and it's one of the best cars I have owned. I was hoping to get the '17 BRZ as a daily driver (we have a Prius as our other daily but it has 445k miles!). I might get another WRX or a manual 2 or 3 series awd BMW. I was really looking forward to the '17 BRZ.

The other cars we have are torque heavy muscle cars, so it's either a vette or an r/t challenger and I think I'm too used to the torque.

[XK4]

Originally Posted by Last Lemming Alive

Hello Gents,


This is my first post but 4th Suby. I was an active member on NASIOC. I've owned 2006 WRX Limited, 2009 WRX, 2011 STI Limited and now the 2017 WRB BRZ Limited w/ PP. the BRZ is more fun than any of them with the except of off road where the STI is a blast and best at home.


Now I'm probably a bit older than most of you guys, so outright speed and HP is waaay over rated when you use a car for daily driving in a city. What I have found is that it is way more important how it makes you feel at low speed, and this car has gobs of tactile feel and responsiveness. And its NOT slow, it's just not blistering fast.


I get sick of the youngsters (probably not you guys since you own one or want to own one) saying its underpowered. When I hear that, I know I'm hearing from someone who is not very worldly in automotive terms. For God's sake that been the winning formula for Miatas for 20 years. I've owned plenty of cars (over 20 at least), and all of them except 2 have been performance cars to one degree or another. The BRZ is most similar to the RX8 I owned, but feels waaay faster due to the torque and gearing. But is also gratifying like my old '86 Porsche 911 and is a lot like my current '86 944 Turbo. The BRZ blows me away because its combines the best attributes of these cars in a simple well executed fashion.


I test drove the 370z the same day I test drove and bought my BRZ. Yes the Z is faster - but that's it. It feels like a boat - HEAVY. At slow speed it feels like my wife's old Infiniti G35 - sounds the same too, in other words boring. If I did a lot of highway driving I might pick on up. I drove the BRZ after the 370z and I knew in the first 20 feet it was the better car.


As for the PP I think its worth every cent. The Brembo brakes do not feel mushy, they feel better than the Brembos I had in my STI. The wheels look decent to, and the crinkle coat intake is back!! Looks great. The stereo, while nothing great, is way better than in any other Subaru car I have owned. I hear the new ones are much better. the 4.30 rear end ratio fits this car perfectly and response at low speeds is instant. I can not speak to the older 4.10 ratio since I never drove it, but I'm sure its good too. The seats are awesome, and in some ways better than the Focus ST Recaro seats. BTW that's the car I traded in for the BRZ. On that car I had the Mountune MR300 suspension and tune kit. The throttle in that car sucked bad. It was like an on off switch, the BRZ, being NA is so much more fun and controllable. I don't regret ridding myself of the Focus ST either!


Anyway just wanted to say hello! I'll try to post up pics later.

Welcome.

I'm also a "seasoned" driver (maybe the forum needs a "Seniors" category) who prefers a lightweight sports car. I test drove both a WRX and a WRX-STi on the day I bought by BRZ-PP. While I loved the straight line speed, both cars felt heavy. And since this car is fair weather only, I didn't need the WRX's AWD (my Outback is my practical car).

[carsebuco]

Originally Posted by XK4

Welcome.

I'm also a "seasoned" driver (maybe the forum needs a "Seniors" category) who prefers a lightweight sports car. I test drove both a WRX and a WRX-STi on the day I bought by BRZ-PP. While I loved the straight line speed, both cars felt heavy. And since this car is fair weather only, I didn't need the WRX's AWD (my Outback is my practical car).

I'm not at all a seasoned driver, but after driving my BRZ for almost a year, I finally managed to test drive a 370z and man, that was boring. I had more fun driving my AT 2000 civic back in the day that had a hole in the muffler than that thing. The twins are just so mechanical to drive, it feels amazing.

[2017-BRZ]

I've seen plenty of these 17 wheels already scuffed.. much more so than the non-PP wheels.. (which IMHO look better.) and appear by comparison more road rugged as well.

PP price was not a deal breaker. But like I posted earlier I rather spend that extra monies on my wheels of choice and much wider selection.

[2017-BRZ]

Bet it would have sold more PP option packages if they had LOL..

[2017-BRZ]

My local dealer just got in a new yellow series. I got to test drive it with zero miles. Took it like a half mile and turned around since I didn't love it. Anyone think the new one is different?!? The last one I drove was a '13 with a few mods and I loved it. I didn't want to put miles on the '17 since I knew I wasn't going to buy it. This was the manual.

I drove a new STI after that, and like the WRX I have better. I'm at 18k miles with the '16 WRX and it's one of the best cars I have owned. I was hoping to get the '17 BRZ as a daily driver (we have a Prius as our other daily but it has 445k miles!). I might get another WRX or a manual 2 or 3 series awd BMW. I was really looking forward to the '17 BRZ.

The other cars we have are torque heavy muscle cars, so it's either a vette or an r/t challenger and I think I'm too used to the torque.


Jen

Yea I can understand the torque debate especially when its what you're accustomed to driving. This car is not about that. This car is all about high revs gear matching practice to stay in the power band with phenomenal handling and steering precision.. think Porsche Cayman or Lotus Exige....

Its not for every one.. and certainly not for those unwilling to break away from the "muscle" car driving experience.

[dowroa]

Originally Posted by 2017-BRZ

I've seen plenty of these 17 wheels already scuffed.. much more so than the non-PP wheels.. (which IMHO look better.) and appear by comparison more road rugged as well.

PP price was not a deal breaker. But like I posted earlier I rather spend that extra monies on my wheels of choice and much wider selection.

Just for a counter point -- I highly despise the non-PP wheels. Without the updates in 2017 and PP including the wheels, I would have never considered a BRZ/FT-86 on the top of my list. Having to immediately sell tires and wheels is expensive and a hassle. There is nothing redeeming to me about the 17x7" 215/45 non-PP offering.

With the change of offset/design needed to clear the Brembos, I believe this is why you haven't seen the 7.5" wheel used in Australia, for example, on this car. Therefore, I truly believe it is just a package option.

The complete package for wheels that fit over the Brembos, wheels with increased width, and the Brembos is really inexpensive and a bargain. That is, if you see it as useful or an upgrade.

If you wanted the extra money at purchase or didn't like the Brembos, I would assume that getting the Premium with non-PP and spending the money on a AP Racing Sprint kit + RPF-01s 17x9s would be the reasonable (and possibly more expensive yet focused) alternative per gtengr. Else, getting a Limited and then adding your preferred brakes and wheels that would clear would be more expensive.

Also, for what I am doing, I would see the PP wheels as great "around town" wheels with my less aggressive/winter/safer/backup/willPassInspection tires. Then, when I am ready to go full STX prep with low heat cycles, throw on the 17x9 w/RE-71Rs @ 255/40 to get the 2nd gear top end back.

I believe the option to get the BRZ the way you want is *already* there with a Premium.